The
National Council for Preservation Education records (NCPE) consists of materials related to the organizations foundation and historic preservation activities, efforts and events. The materials in the collection span from 1985 to 2010 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1992 to 2004. The materials reflect the organizations involvement in important events, such as the creation of the organization and the James Marston Fitch Award, annual/collaborative conferences, development of certification standards for academic historic preservation programs, collaborative efforts with other preservation organizations and groups, collection and dissemination of information and ideas related to historic preservation and advocacy/outreach. The collection also contains academic program curricula and application materials, mailing lists, student essays, conference materials, organizational correspondences, magazine and newspaper clippings, NCPE website data and some copies of the organizations publication NCPE News. The collection does not contain complete runs of conference materials, or a full representation of organizational correspondences, agendas/minutes and financial records.

Preferred Citation note

Please cite materials from the University Archives in the following manner: Item. Collection Title. Eastern Michigan University Archives.

Administrative History Note

Founded as a confederation of educational institutions offering historic preservation curricula and programs in 1980, the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE) was formally commissioned as a non-profit educational corporation, chartered in the District of Columbia, on May 17, 1985. It relies on a system of rotating volunteers for administrative, conference facilitation, advocacy/outreach, and webmaster duties. These volunteers are commonly instructors from member institutions. There are no corporate offices; however, administrative volunteers communicate and collaborate regularly through meetings, email and phone conversation. After its foundation the organization quickly identified the following goals for advocating and facilitating historic preservation efforts:

1. Encourage and assist in the development and improvement of historic preservation education programs and endeavors in the United States and elsewhere.

2. Coordinate efforts related to preservation education with public and private organizations and interested individuals.

3. Facilitate the collection, exchange and dissemination of information and ideas concerning preservation education; public awareness of endeavors in preservation education.

Academic historic preservation program certification is a primary function of NCPE and member programs undergo a rigorous annual recertification process. As a part of membership, academic programs are listed on the NCPE database (formally, The Great Chart) that provides prospective historic preservation students with information related to program locations, degree offerings and contact information for program advisors. During the early years NCPE published
NCPE News which was a newsletter that contained articles related to important historic preservation topics and activities in the United States of America. NCPE continues to publish a peer reviewed journal, Preservation Education & Research (PER), which is used to exchange and disseminate information concerning preservation education and research. Since developing the PreserveNet website (http://www.preservenet.cornell.edu/index.php) this information is now centrally located and easily accessed electronically, and also includes employment, news, and event resources

NCPE has become a leader in historic preservation advocacy and outreach through holding annual conferences and collaborative efforts with organizations such as the National Park Service, National Trust, Historic Site Council and the American Institute of Architects. Every year since 2000, NCPE has recognized outstanding individual contributions to the historic preservation field with an award named after influential preservationist and NCPE member, James Marston Fitch. As of 2011, NCPE has over fifty member institutions located across the United States of America. These academic programs in historic preservation and allied fields have educated thousands of students, many of whom have developed professional careers as professional historic preservation leaders working for local, state, federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations and in the private sector both nationally and globally.

Scope and Contents note

The
National Council for Preservation Education records contains information on the foundation of the organization, organizational operations, challenges and awards, and collaborations with other historic preservation individuals, groups and organizations, and are a significant contribution to the study of preservation education organizations. The materials contain items created and accumulated NCPE since its incorporation (1985) through 2010. The collection is rich in evidential, legal, intrinsic and informational value and dates from 1985 to 2010, with the bulk of materials dating from 1992 to 2004.

The first three series of this collection reflect organizational operations, management, and conference facilitation. The
Administrative series contains annual, business and Executive agendas and minutes, along with documents related to certification standards, articles of incorporation, bylaws, directories of member programs, membership lists, historic preservation award application materials, student internships, mailing lists, special reports, submitted student essays, surveys of academic historic preservation programs and a small amount of unidentified notes -- most of which are hand written. The
Conferences series contains materials/packets created and distributed to conference attendees. The
Correspondences series is one of the largest series in the collection and contains emails and letters related to administrative projects, operations, and organizational challenges; along with the creation of the historic preservation program directory (The Great Chart), the development and maintenance of the NCPE website, publishing of NCPE special reports, student internship programs, the creation and awarding of the James Marston Fitch Award, historic preservation advocacy and education, sustainability, organizational outreach and conference organization/facilitation. The
Financials series (closed to researchers) contain financial statements, ledgers, dues lists, Curriculum Vitas, accounts payable/receivable, investment portfolios and membership payments.

The next four series reflect the historic preservation activities and efforts of the organization through time. The series
Organizations contains publications from related/associated/collaborative historic preservation groups and organizations. The
Outreach series contains items that document NCPE public interactive activities through newspaper/magazine clippings and website activity logs. The
Publications series contains a sampling of hardcopy NCPE publications, and the
Visual Materials series contains a small amount of images and postcards from various NCPE conference host locations. The collection does not contain complete runs of conference materials, or a full representation of organizational correspondences, agendas/minutes and financial records.

Administrative Information

Publication Information

Revision Description

Added two new folders: Correspondences, 1992 - 1994 (folder 13, Box 3) and National Council for Preservation Education Annual Conferences, 1998. Additional materials were interfiled in the NCPE News, Executive Committee Agendas / Minutes and Outreach - Newspaper Clippings.
Changed the title of folder #6, box 2 to: 2004 January 13 to 2007 March 21.
Added eight new folders to the Correspondences Series: 2007 March 22 to 2007 August 15, 2007 August 17 to 2008 February 27, 2008 March 5 to 2008 October 16, 2008 October 17 to 2009 March 17, 2009 March 31 to 2009 November 2, 2009 November 7 to 2010 June 19, 2010 July 15 to 2010 October 18 and 2010 October 19 to 2012 April 25.
Added one folder to the Publications series: Preservation Education & Research (PER). 2013 December 19

Conditions Governing Access note

Researchers are asked to request materials 24 hours prior to visiting the the University Archives.

Conditions Governing Access note

The
Financials series is restricted to NCPE Executive Committee members only. Please see University Archivist for details.

Custodial History note

The materials in this collections were created and/or accumulated by various NCPE Executive Committee members during their time on the committee.

Accruals note

University Archives continues to add materials to the collection. To reflect additions, edits to the finding aid will occur at the end of each calendar year. These records have come to the archive in multiple shipments from different people that held administrative positions with NCPE during 2011 and 2012. Additional materials will be coming into this collection over time and these items will be added to the collection and made available as resources allow.

Related Materials

Related Archival Materials note

Researchers may find associated materials contained in the Susan Wineberg papers (018.SW), Jane Schemideke papers (018.JS), the Woolridge Brown Morton III papers (018.WBM) and the Marshall McLennan papers (018.MM) located in the University Archives at Eastern Michigan University. Further, researchers may find materials on similar subjects at the New York Preservation Archive (http://www.nypap.org) and the Ypsilanti Historical Museum.

Other Finding Aids note

Financial support for the acquisition, solicitation, arrangement and description of the
National Council for Preservation Education records was generously provided by the National Council for Preservation Education.